"It was outlined in his exit physical that he needs to come in at a certain weight," Red Sox acting manager Torey Lovullo said. "That's our expectations. I don't have the paperwork in front of me but I think it was 15 pounds -- 15 or 20 pounds lighter is what was asked of him."

It's not that Ramirez was overweight this year. He came into spring training way more muscular than ever before.

So what do the Sox think dropping 15-20 will allow Ramirez to do?

"Stay healthy," Lovullo said. "Less stress on the body. All from a health standpoint. All for getting through a season and not having those aches and pains that a big body has. We all know that when you carry extra weight it puts more stress on your joints."

The Sox also hope Ramirez will regain some of the athleticism he once displayed as a shortstop.

"I think to be an infielder you have to be a little more agile," Lovullo said.

Ramirez played at about 20 pounds lighter before this year and it didn't prevent injuries from occurring. He appeared in just 92 games in 2011, 86 games in 2013 and 128 games last year.

An Oct. 1 MassLive.com column examined how the best option for the Red Sox seems to be to
trade Ramirez this offseason
even if that means eating the majority of his remaining contract.

Of the two big free agent signings last offseason (Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval) the Sox seem to have much more trust going forward in Sandoval.

"The one unknown is Hanley because he hasn't played first base before," Lovullo said. "But we all feel like he can do it. If he gets healthy he can do it. A former infielder with good actions. He understands how to square up to a ball, how to get his feet set up to throw a ball. He's got all of those necessary actions. He was a really good shortstop for a lot of years. But we don't know exactly what's going to happen from a health standpoint. But I feel comfortable saying he could be just fine there.

"Pablo for me is more suitable and an easier bet to be OK," Lovullo added. "He's done it before. He's had solid offensive years. He's won World Series as a third baseman. So I think we have our third baseman. We have a guy that can go there, play, help us win and help us win a championship. And that's an easy bet because he's done it."